Electoral redistribution: the contestation of “law 59” is growing

Voices are added to the lawsuit filed in Superior Court with the aim of invalidating the law which postponed the revision of the electoral map beyond 2026.

After the Council of prefects and elected officials of the Laurentides region (CPERL), which instituted the process last June, and the MRC of Brome-Missisquoi, which joined in July, now the Table of MRC from Centre-du-Québec is in turn jumping into the fray.

A resolution was adopted by its members with the aim of joining the request for judicial review led by the law firm Prévost Fortin D’Aoust (PFD) and to contribute up to $10,000. The ratification process ended last Thursday with the signing of the MRC by Nicolet-Yamaska.

The lawsuit filed by the CPERL aims to have the Law aimed at interrupting the process of delimitation of electoral constituencies, adopted by the National Assembly in the spring, declared unconstitutional.

Its instigators argue that the map should be reviewed urgently, despite the wishes of the legislator, arguing that there are only two years left until the next elections.

Undertaken the day after the 2022 election, the work of the CLAY aimed at developing a delimitation proposal for 2026 were interrupted on March 28.

The minister responsible, Jean-François Roberge, then announced that the four parties represented in the National Assembly had agreed to suspend the current process, fearing in particular the suppression of two counties in Gaspésie and Montreal, as mentioned in the preliminary report of the CLAY.

Bill 59, drafted following this agreement, was adopted on May 2. THE CLAY was then drafting its second report, which was to take into account the criticisms expressed during the public hearings which took place in the fall of 2023 and during its appearance in the parliamentary committee last February.

The lawsuit filed by the CPERL contests the constitutionality of “law 59”, arguing for example that it is unfair that the votes of voters in certain regions such as the Laurentians carry less weight than elsewhere in Quebec.

Aware that time is running out, its instigators have inserted into their suit a request for an interlocutory injunction to force the CLAY to resume the redesign of the map where it left off, while waiting for the Court to rule on the merits. This request must be heard on November 27 at the Saint-Jérôme courthouse.

To give birth to “Marie-Lacoste-Gérin-Lajoie”

The interest of the Table of MRC of Centre-du-Québec to join the lawsuit instituted by the CPERL has a lot to do with the fact that the CLAY wanted to grant an additional constituency to the region.

The Commission’s preliminary report provided for the creation of two new counties, namely “Bellefeuille”, in the Laurentians, and “Marie-Lacoste-Gérin-Lajoie”, which would have included part of the territory of Drummondville.

This redistribution would have made it possible, through a domino effect, to regularize the situation in the constituencies of Johnson, Richmond and Brome-Missisquoi, where the voters are much more numerous than the Quebec average.

Reached by telephone on Friday, the mayor of Drummondville, Stéphanie Lacoste, stressed that Centre-du-Québec received 2,000 new residents per year and that at this rate, its population should have increased by 4.5% between the 2021 censuses. and 2026.

The development of the battery sector, in addition, should lead to the creation of at least 5,000 jobs in the region over the coming years, continues Ms. Lacoste. In this context, if we postpone electoral redistribution until 2030, our deficit [démocratique] will just be accentuatedshe argues.

All we want is to ensure that we have good representation in Quebec so that the issues of Centre-du-Québec are well defended.

The Table of MRC of Centre-du-Québec is made up of the prefects of the five MRC of the region, namely Arthabaska, Bécancour, Drummond, L’Érable and Nicolet-Yamaska. It represents the interests of some 80 municipalities where just over 260,000 people reside.

The new card would already be ready, had it not been for “law 59”

In an affidavit filed in advance of November 27, a representative of the DGE also reveals that before the adoption of “law 59”, the establishment of the delimitation of constituencies was planned no later than October 8, 2024while the publication of this decision in the Gazette official was planned October 25.

It further warns that in the event of a resumption of the process, a period of more or less 367 working days will be necessary for carry out the minimum and essential steps of operations related to the adoption of a new card.

The next elections are scheduled for October 5, 2026, so the question would have to be decided no later than April 2025 for the CLAY has time to resume and complete the process that it abandoned last spring.